Friday, July 29, 2011

Lately the reasons to visit NYC are stacking up, and up and up! I'm seriously hoping to be able to plan a trip this fall - I think PGM needs to cover the dynamic things happening in this city! Today I came across something really cool — Dekalb Market in Brooklyn — an outdoor vendor market created with discarded shipping containers. Amazing. We've all seen construction projects with recycled shipping containers — most are conversation|statement pieces and don't leave you feeling like the look is going to take off anytime soon [that said I've always thought ecopods was pretty cool. Still don't think you'd be doing much for the landscape, but I have a cottage on an island in Georgian Bay and I can attest to you that an iron-clad, indestructible cottage would have it's benefits]. However, re-imagined in this sense, Dekalb Market is a whole-lot more than a study in upcycling. A collaborative project between Urban Space and Youngwoo & Associates, the space is at once an event venue, an urban farm, an eatery and a retail space. Each vendor was given liberty to outfit their space in whatever manner they saw fit, resulting in a kaleidoscope of ingenuity and originality! Further, among the market's top goals are to create a dynamic sense of community, supporting local vendors, products and food while upholding a credo of sustainability. Check out the entire project at Dekalb's official site.

Opening early Summer, Dekalb Market will be open seven days a week. Located at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue Extension and Willoughby in Brooklyn, Dekalb Market can be easily reached by public transportation.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Summer produce is in high season right now - this is the first year I've subscribed to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I'm delighted with it. I keep getting veggies I didn't know could be locally grown and that I've never tried. Yesterday I made some swiss chard and it was delicious! (Heat a cast iron skillet, add butter and diced garlic. Once garlic is browned add swiss chard, squeeze a wedge of lemon over them and cook until just wilted. Eat right away.) Every week the green onions and potatoes keep getting bigger! I thought these green onions just looked so fresh! Are you getting the chance to enjoy some seasonal, local produce??

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

I've been saving this one for a while - it's so beautiful my desire to live here is almost painful. I'm sure you'll agree! It's one of the latest projects by Portland design firm Jessica Helgerson Design, one of our all-time favourite sustainable design firms. Their designs leave no fraction of doubt that green design can be incredibly stylish. Their ethos and aesthetic fit perfectly with Pure Green Mag's style and value. We've got our eye's peeled for future projects by this firm — maybe someday we'll travel to Portland and meet Jessica and the team. I think a feature in a future issue would be well received! You?

This project was handled by JHID designer Jesse Moyer. Here's more on the project:

"The house is divided into three levels, each with its own common living space as well as adjacent bedrooms. We wanted to give each level a special feeling of its own. . .
The upper level is light and elegant with a 16-foot-long sofa that curves gracefully on thin walnut legs, a handcrafted walnut lamp that curves to match the sofa, and a chandelier that reflects the ocean in hundreds of slightly irregular hand-blown glass drops.
The mid level is comfortable and warm with colorful rugs and cozy wing back chairs upholstered in linen. The game table is Jesse Moyer’s design and we had vintage chairs upholstered to match it.
The lower level is playful and casual with a big sectional clad in reclaimed barn wood and a boat transformed into a day bed that hangs from the ceiling. The home theater has inviting velvet chairs, funny Mexican movie posters and pillows made from vintage silk scarves.
With the a very few exceptions nearly all the furniture is either of our design, and built here in Portland, or vintage."

Thursday, July 21, 2011

I don't know about you live, but where I live is incredibly hot this week. Not only is it hot, but the sun is strong. Last Sunday (my only day off) I indulged by spending a good portion of the day on the dock.... in and out of the water every 10 minutes! I wore sunscreen and had a big floppy hat on and was in the shade a good deal, and I still got as much colour as I would otherwise get in a month! A testament to exactly how strong the sun really is these days. Somewhat scary. A good day on the water gave me the chance to try a new sunscreen I'd been dying to try - Soleil Organique's Mineral Sunscreen. Having tried quite a few different natural sunscreen's over the years I have to admit that I've used them somewhat begrudgingly. The white, dry film on my skin left something to be desired. S.O. was nothing like that - in fact, it has a beautiful shimmer effect, adding to your summer glow and it smells wonderful too. This post isn't a paid review, nor am I trying to solicit anything. I'm just excited to have found a sunscreen that I love and wanted to share it with you too! (Another amazing screen I've tried is Marie Veronique Organics, which you've seen here before.) You can find more information on S.O and why natural sunscreen is so very important on their site. Happy summer!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I couldn't resist sharing these - readers of the magazine will recognize these as Stone Creek Camp, the Destination feature in our latest issue. There were so many fantastic shots it was impossible to include them all in the magazine. Here are a few extras shots, just because. I especially love that many of them show off that fantastic, stunning cord wood wall that is creating some very serious design envy over here at Pure Green!! Be sure to read the full story on p.92 of our summer issue.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I came across a fantastic little online shop today called Miki Organics (gotta love Twitter!) in Britain. I loved the vintage feel of her product shots, and of course the products themselves speak volumes. On trend or not, I can't get enough of natural textures, beachy, neutral shades - every time I see it I just can't stop staring - think cream, charcoal grey, natural wood tones... The name Miki comes from the Japanese translation of 'beautiful tree' - perfect.

"Set up in 2008 by Claire Watson, Miki sources stylish ethical and eco friendly interior design, accessories and gifts. If you are like us then being surrounded by good design and gorgeous clothes makes you happy. We want to be the change we want to see in the world. This means making sure that the people who make our products are also happy, and that from crop to final product the best environmental practices are used."

I think these mini tagines are my favourite! A perfect little salt cellar!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Love the ethos of this project. It's easy to forget that the harvesting of wood and cooking over a fire is still a HUGE issue in many developing countries. Women have to walk miles per day for daily basics such as water and food, as well as wood to cook with. Cooking with wood has created two major issues: One, deforestation is epidemic. Lack of vegetation is creating desert conditions, stripping the soil of nutrients. The lack of root systems is also contributing to desertification due to erosion, washing valuable soil away. Second, cooking over an open fire indoors is leading to major respiratory problems for women and children. For more on the issue, check out Stove Man with Austin & Greg, a series put together by The Paradigm Project - a non-profit organization that is attempting to distribute 5 million high-efficiency stoves in countries such as Kenya, Guatemala, Tanzania and Ethiopia. So far they've distributed 13,163 stoves, which has impacted 32,500 people. Amazing huh? Check out their progress here. Let me know what you think! I'm thinking this would be a good candidate for Pure Green Magazine's advertising donation program - if you haven't heard about that, PGM donates a percentage of our advertising revenue to non-profit organizations that support the environment around the world. For more information please contact us at advertise@puregreenmag.com

Monday, July 4, 2011

This long weekend I did something I've wanted to do for a long time - make strawberry jam! Every year I have lamented the passing of strawberry season without a pantry full of preserves, so when I found myself with a three day long weekend I made it a priority.

My parents and I made the trek to a local, organic strawberry farm where the picking was ripe and the berries were plentiful!

After a short hour in the summer sun, my fingers were stained pink and my baskets were full, as was my belly! The farm owners instructed us, with a good dose of humor, that over-ripe berries shouldn't be picked unless it was to eat right then and there, which I was all too happy to oblige!

Next, after washing and prepping, the berries were ready to prepare. I have to admit, having never undertaken this before, I greatly underestimated the time involved. My sister and I worked together and after getting a late start (7 pm) we were in the kitchen jarring until 1am! The results, however, were more than worth it! We worked from Ashley English's book Canning & Preserving, part of the Homemade Living Series we featured in the last issue of the magazine. I love her recipe as it uses the natural pectin in the strawberries and uses a lot less sugar than other recipes I'd found - the jam was still perfectly sweet when done!

The finished product - you can see how deep and ruby red the jam turned out - a result of the perfect organic strawberries I'm sure. I'd forgotten how good local, seasonal strawberries truly are. I can't wait to do it again! And I have to say, I'm officially hooked on preserving! We ended up with 10 jars each, the perfect year's supply.